Songs of Fin'Amour JosefMick Slash
by Emerald72
Summary: Looking to distract Mick from his woes after Coraline's death, Josef ends up at a karaoke bar with a drunk Mick in tow. The night doesn't finish there. Josef/Mick Slash


Title: Songs of Fin'Amour

Pairing: Josef/Mick

Rating: R

Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Looking to distract Mick from his woes after Coraline's death, Josef ends up at a karaoke bar with a drunk Mick in tow. The night doesn't finish there. A response to the VampSisters Messageboard Fanfic Challenge: Karaoke (Moonlight Specific) - One or more of the characters visits a Karaoke Bar. What songs do they choose to sing, and why?

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Josef leant against the chipped, and glass worn bar, and surveyed his surroundings. They'd driven for hours; Josef behind the wheel, an increasingly intoxicated Mick alongside; knocking back cheap shots of Whiskey chased blood, straight from the bottle.

It had been three months since the night of the fire. Three months in which Josef had watched Mick's behaviour become increasingly erratic. Finally, he'd had enough. Bundling a two parts resistant Mick into a rental car, Josef hit the road - no set destination, no plan, just drive. One thing was clear, Mick needed to get away from L.A. Away from the guilt, away from tinderbox memories of a blonde haired child, and an ex wife haloed in flames.

Mick had moved past drunk, and belligerent some twenty or so miles ago. A quick detour through sneering, and arrogant, he had somehow managed to end up where Josef had hoped he eventually would, seemingly happy, and ready to party.

And that's how Josef found himself in a karaoke bar, in the middle of nowhere, at one am, listening to a Gin soaked Mick St John belt out a repertoire of 1950's 'hey daddy-o' beats.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Josef thought as he slumped with casual elegance, and tried not to roll his eyes too noticeably. Besides this was supposed to be Mick's night, Mick's escape; the fact that their present location left much to be desired in the way of 'fun' wasn't the point.

Or so Josef tried to remind himself as he listened to Mick launch into yet another spirited rendition of ages past, watching as Mick's expression fell earnest behind a clear mask of memories invoked.

Songs steeped in history, another lifetime, another world away. Mick seemed intent on recapturing some elusive essence of times gone by; back when he could still feel the sun on his face, back when he found himself tucking into prime rib on Sunset Strip, juices running down his chin, and fingers sticky with glaze….

_…Back when he was still human. _

"Hey, what gives?" Stepping off the stage at the end of the song, Mick swaggered up alongside, and propped himself against the bar, the point of a jovial elbow nudged against Josef's ribcage. "You gonna join me or not? C'mon, we'll do a duet, it'll be fun."

"Let's not, and just say we did." Josef raised a singular eyebrow, and shot Mick his best 'you've got to be kidding me' smile.

"Suit yourself." Mick shrugged, and looked nonplussed, already moving off, intent on continuing his jaunt along nostalgia alley.

"Mick, wait." Josef caught Mick's arm as he went.

"Change your mind?"

Mick snorted a drunken laugh at the exaggerated eye roll Josef gave him then.

"No, I just wanted to know if you were alright." Following the night's established theme of nonchalance, Josef brushed the sleeves of his suit coat, and tried not to look too concerned.

For a moment Mick was caught off guard, unsure of his response as he swayed slightly on his feet, and looked at Josef with bleary-eyed puzzlement. Monsters weren't supposed to possess hearts. And yet Josef had expressed concern, Josef seemed to care.

_Josef seemed to care about him. _

"Can you tell me what I am, what I'm supposed to be," Mick wanted to ask. Instead he placed an unsteady hand on Josef's shoulder, and tried to offer his reassurances with an added wink. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just saying goodbye to a few old friends."

Josef thought he understood then, this was Mick's swan song, a farewell performance in honour of times gone by. Mick was saying goodbye to the past. Maybe it was a good thing, Josef considered, but his heart still ached as he watched Mick stumble back on stage.

"Oh, Christ." Josef muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes. Against his own sense of decorum he would join Mick up there.

Mick was singing a rendition of 'Aint that just like a woman'. The lyrics spoke of the dangers of feminine wiles, the risk of men's betrayal at the hands of the fairer sex. Josef assumed from the rhythm of the music the song was supposed to be more tongue in cheek than anything, but still Mick sang it with a bitter edge.

Standing at the foot of the stage, Josef waited for Mick to finish, and then stepped up alongside.

"Don't you dare say one word, Mick," Josef gritted his teeth, and spoke out the side of his mouth, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this for you."

Surveying the near empty room, only a few barflies gathered drunkenly around the beer taps, Josef cleared his throat, instructed the DJ that music wouldn't be necessary, and began to sing.

Mick couldn't understood the words, it sounded as if Josef was singing in some ancient form of Italian language, but still he felt drawn to the sound of Josef's voice. Josef sang with richness, and clarity rarely heard, the older style of melody invoking images of Troubadours, and Wandering Minstrels of days gone by. Mick was captivated, and so it seemed were the other patrons of the bar, looking up from their individual reveries of watching foam as it slid down the side of a beer glass to stare entranced at the performance before them.

"Were you singing that for me?" Mick asked, grinning appreciatively when Josef had finished.

"Yes," Josef replied curtly, as he averted his eyes, and briskly adjusted the sleeves, and collar of his shirt, "don't go making a big deal of it."

"Okay." For a moment Mick didn't know what else to say, and then he was stepping forward, and drawing his arms around Josef's neck. "Thank you."

Josef acknowledged Mick's gratitude with a few quick pats on Mick's shoulder, and then sidestepped Mick's affections. As unpopulated as the bar was Josef still had the distinct feeling those who were present weren't exactly going to take kindly to the image of two men hugging under the glare of a spotlight on stage.

"We should get going," Mick heard Josef telling him then, "I have a feeling we're about to out stay our welcome."

Mick capitulated to Josef's wisdom in the matter; he had done all he wanted to do here, and followed Josef out to the car.

'So, are you going to tell me what you were singing back there?" Sobering with the fresh wind of the passing highway, Mick rested his elbow out the window of the moving vehicle, and challenged Josef to respond.

"I might, one day." Eyes fixed dead ahead, Mick could still see the tiny twitches of a grin gathered at the corners of Josef's mouth.

"Asshole." Mick declared with good-natured aplomb. And then he was instructing Josef to pull over, pointing to a trail on the side of the road, that lead to a nearby river.

"I remember we used to fish here when I was child," Mick explained as they made their way towards the banks, and sat down, Josef complaining briefly about the dirt on his shoes, and the risk of mud on his suit pants, "Dad drove for miles just to find this one spot."

Mick lapsed into silence, looking out over the dark waters as he processed a dearth of memories.

"Do you ever wonder what this all means?" Mick turned to Josef then, "us, I mean, the reason we're here."

"Not really," Josef replied quietly as Mick shifted closer, and rested his head on Josef's shoulder. "I don't question my existence, Mick," Josef grinned then, and flourished a mock extravagant through the air in front of him. "It is what it is."

"Then can you at least tell me what I am?" The question Mick had wanted to ask prior rose to the surface once more.

"You're not a monster, Mick." Josef's reply was measured with earnest tones.

"Oh yeah, how do you figure that?" Mick snorted a note of self-disgust, "I killed my wife, Josef. I waited until she was completely helpless, and then I set fire to her, and watched her burn. Coraline kidnapped a child because of me for Christ's sake, I live on blood to survive, how do you reconcile any of that with the idea of me not being a monster."

"So what are you planning on doing, punishing yourself for the rest of your life? Forever's a long time, Mick." Josef brushed a stray lock of hair from Mick's forehead, and then smoothed a hand across the top of Mick's head.

"That's just it, Josef," Mick threw his hands up in frustration, "I don't know what to do. I don't know what I am, I don't know what I'm meant to be, and now that Coraline's dead I don't know which direction I'm supposed to go in. Everything's fucked, and I don't know how to fix it."

Josef wasn't used to men burrowing their faces into side of his neck as they cried on his shoulder, not unless the men in question were pleading for their lives. He supposed in a way though that was exactly what Mick was doing.

Unsure of how else to respond, Josef pressed his lips against Mick's own, and kissed him, tasting faint traces of copper overlaid with salty tears.

Mick's first reaction was to rear back as if he'd just been scalded, his hand flying up to his mouth, fingers probing experimentally at his lips. And then he was gripping the sides of Josef's skull, his lips meshing against Josef's own as he returned Josef's kiss with equal fervor.

"There's a motel five miles up the road," Mick broke away just long enough to whisper urgently.

"Do you even know what you're doing right now?"

"Probably not," Mick laughed, "but what have I got to lose?"

_Us, our friendship, the fact that I'd be miserable without you in my life._

It took Josef all of five seconds to weigh up his options, and come to a decision. For all he was risking, Mick still needed an anchor.

"Let's go."

An hour later Mick lay stretched out on his side, replete as Josef spooned against him from behind, their bodies diffused with sweat, Mick's mouth still working contentedly against the wound on Josef's wrist.

_Sex, and Karaoke, it had been an interesting, and unexpected night._

"How are you feeling?" Josef propped himself up on one shoulder, and brushed the back of his hand along Mick's jaw line.

And there it was again, that same caring tone of voice. Josef cared; Mick struggled to reconcile that fact as he clung to his long held belief that monsters really weren't supposed to possess hearts. But maybe some did, maybe the notions of good, and evil, right, and wrong, weren't so black and white.

"I never knew it was even possible to come that hard." Grinning, Mick drew his lips away from Josef's wrist, and then entwined his fingers with Josef's own. The deeper stuff could wait. For now, Mick decided; he just wanted to enjoy the moment.

"Well, now you do." Josef rounded a cavalier eyebrow, and drew the line of his mouth into a self-satisfied smile. And then his expression fell serious. "I can't stay though, Mick. I told you before we set out I had to be back by morning. Business doesn't take care of itself you know."

"Yeah, I know," Mick nodded his understanding, and tried not to sound too disappointed. He turned to face Josef then.

"Do you still want to know what I was singing back there?" Josef asked as Mick shifted into his arms.

"Why, are you gonna tell me?"

"I might, one day." Josef chortled with amusement when he heard Mick's groan of frustration. "Actually I was planning on leaving you a note for the morning."

It seemed Josef took pity on Mick then, or maybe he just wanted to see how much would change once Mick knew.

"So, why not just tell me now."

"You ask too many questions." Josef scoffed tongue in cheek. And then he was drawing Mick closer, his lips pressed against Mick's own. "You up for another round? I've still got a little time up my sleeve."

Mick wasn't given a chance to reply, Josef's hand was already slipping onto his cock, stroking him back to full hardness. And then limbs tangling, and fangs bared at one another they headed once more towards the abyss.

Later, Josef would slip out quietly when Mick had fallen asleep, leaving Mick a fresh bottle of blood for the morning, and a hastily scrawled note.

Feeling a little disorientated when he first awoke, Mick took a moment to shake off the last vestiges of sleep, and then quickly located the gifts Josef had left for him. Guzzling the crimson liquid in the bottle appreciatively, Mick sat down to read what Josef had written.

The note started off simply enough, Josef apologising once more for having to leave so early, reiterating his business commitments, letting Mick know a car would be sent as soon as Mick was ready.

And then there was this…

P.S, the Troubadors called them 'Songs of Fin'Amour'. A little before my time, but I had the opportunity to learn a few notes along the way."

_Whatever she may offer you,  
whatever she may say  
Remember the time when our love began.  
God knows, I will always be true._

Josef was in love with him? Mick let out a low breath as the full ramifications of Josef's words dawned on him. In that moment he was glad to be seated, had he been standing Mick wasn't so sure he would have kept his feet.

Josef was in love with him, Mick repeated those words to himself. Josef was in love with him, Josef cared. No, more than cared.

Mick smiled then at the realisation.

_Maybe the notions of good, and evil, right, and wrong, weren't so black and white._

And maybe, just maybe everything was going to be okay.


End file.
